US4188084A - Underwater electrical connectors - Google Patents

Abstract

An electrical connector for effecting connection between groups of submerged electrical contact elements comprises a plug and a base, each provided with electrical contact elements to be connected and which are immersed in an insulating liquid in respective enclosures in the plug and base, one of the enclosures being annular and inwardly limited by an inner protective body and the other of the enclosures being cylindrical and outwardly limited by an outer protective body. The plug and base are connected by sliding the cylindrical enclosure over the surface of the annular enclosure so as to replace the inner protective body by the cylindrical enclosure and to bring the electrical contact elements into alignment.

Description

The invention relates to an electrical connector for joining one or more groups of electrical contact elements, which are located underwater, for example at the bottom of the water and are electrically connected to underwater electrical equipment, for example underwater oil-well equipment, to corresponding electrical contact elements on a movable plug which is, for example, connected by means of a cable to control circuits arranged at the surface of the water and is capable of being raised to the surface and then lowered again in order to be reconnected, without the use of divers.

A connector of this kind, which is capable of providing effective protection for the or each submerged group of electrical contact elements in order to subsequently receive a group which is lowered from the surface and is capable of being connected thereto by a simple movement, has not apparently yet been proposed.

According to the invention there is provided an electrical connector for underwater connection of groups of electrical contact elements, comprising a movable plug carrying a group of electrical contact elements and a base carrying a group of electrical contact elements to be connected to said elements of said plug, wherein said contact elements of said plug and said contact elements of said base are immersed in insulating liquid contained respectively within two complementary enclosures, one of said enclosures being annular and inwardly limited by an inner protective body and the other said enclosure being cylindrical and outwardly limited by an external protective body, said cylindrical enclosure being adapted to slide relatively over the surface of said annular enclosure so as to replace said inner protective body by said cylindrical enclosure and to place corresponding contacts opposite one another.

Preferably the group of electrical contact elements in the base is arranged in an annular cylindrical body which is bordered internally by a movable inner protective cylinder, the base being filled with an insulating oil, and the electrical contact elements in the plug are arranged in a movable inner cylindrical body which is bordered externally by an outer protective cylinder filled with insulating oil. The pushing of the inner cylindrical body of the plug into the annular body of the base causes movement of the inner protective cylinder of the base and the bringing into contact of the corresponding electrical contact elements in the base with those in the plug.

Therefore, when the plug is withdrawn from the annular body of the base, it suffices to simultaneously raise the inner protective cylinder of the base to protect the contact elements in the base, so that the contact elements continue to be bathed by the insulating oil, with the result that the base can remain under water for a long period without being connected to the plug.

To improve the protection of the contact elements in the plug and in the base, by avoiding the introduction of foreign bodies when the plug is introduced into the base, oil under pressure may be injected between the base/plug interfaces comprising the outer end surface of the inner protective cylindrical body of the base and the outer end surface of the cylindrical body carrying the contact elements in the plug.

Debris which may accumulate on the outer end surface of the inner protective cylinder of the base can thus be discharged before the base/plug contact surfaces meet and before the contact elements join, with the result that there is no danger of a foreign body being introduced into the insulating oil and hence between the contact elements.

To increase the number of connecting elements for a given volume of the connector, the elements may be divided up into groups arranged in axially spaced radial planes. The contact elements in the plug may be laterally movable to operative positions and, to that end, may be acted upon by common cam means causing the simultaneous lateral movement of all the contact elements in the plug over contact surfaces of the contact elements in the base.

Thus, a simple remote-control signal actuating cam means comprising, for example, m superposed frusto conical elements, each frusto conical element engaging n contact elements in the plug, suffices to connect mn circuits.

To facilitate the control of the connecting and disconnecting processes in deep water, flexible chambers may be provided inside the insulating liquid filled enclosures of the plug and the base, and the chambers being in communication with the outside. To facilitate the disconnection, in an emergency, a safety control may be provided which requires only a simple pull on the plug to cause the lateral withdrawal of all the contact elements and the separation of the plug from the base.

In this way, a flexible electrical connector can be produced which is adapted to underwater conditions in deep water and to use by means of remote-controlled signals from a surface platform, it being possible for the connecting plug to be easily guided, during its lowering or raising, by any known means, the connection being effectively made regardless of debris which accumulates on the bottom and regardless of the depth.

The invention will be more fully understood from the following description of an embodiment thereof given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a simplified sectional view of a plug of an embodiment of a connector according to the invention, in axial section along the line I--I of FIG. 3;

FIG. 2 is a simplified view of the upper part of the plug of FIG. 1, in section along the line II--II of FIG. 3;

FIG. 3 is a simplified view of the upper end face of the plug of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematically representation of the base of the connector in axial section;

FIG. 5 is a partial section along the line V--V of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a simplified section of a pair of contact elements.

The electrical connector shown in the drawings comprises a first part or plug which is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 and a second part or base which is shown in FIG. 4.

For greater clarity, FIG. 1 of the drawings shows only the housings of the contact elements of two annular groups in the plug, namely housings 33 (FIGS. 1 and 5) of the electrical contact elements nearest thehead 36 of the plug, and housings 1 of the contact elements furthest from the head of the plug. Eachhousing 1 and 33 is slidable inopenings 14 in an outercylindrical support 18 and inopenings 15 in an innercylindrical support 27. Each housing cooperates with a frustoconical cam element 16 (FIGS. 1 and 5) which is fast with acylindrical member 28 for controlling radial sliding movement of thehousings 1 and 33.Member 28 forms a jack in cooperation with thesupport 27. For this purpose, thesupport 27, in FIG. 2, is provided with a channel 17 which is connected to acircuit 8 for supply of oil through aconnector piece 13. The channel 17 opens into achamber 19 betweenmember 28 and support 27 which is rendered leaktight by agasket 31 on thecontrol member 28 which slides on the outer surface of thesupport 27, and by agasket 29 on thesupport 27 over which the inner surface of thecontrol member 28 slides. In the position shown in FIG. 1, theconical cam elements 16 maintain all the contacts in the positions shown. The interior of the plug is filled with an insulating oil which bathes the contact elements and is retained in the plug by means of gaskets such asgasket 37 positioned on theconical head 36, andgasket 32 located on asheath 34 for protecting the contact elements in thehousings 1 and 33. Amembrane 50, forming a pocket within thesupport 27, is fixed to atube 7 which is connected to achannel 49 in theupper part 45 of the plug and which opens to the exterior of the plug. The oil bathing the electrical contact elements in thehousings 1 and 33 is thus at atmospheric pressure.

Theconical head 36 is fixed to thesupports 18 and 27 by any suitable means, forexample bolts 35. Thesheath 34 is biased axially downwardly by aspring 42 which is compressed between aflange 20 on the upper end of thesupport 18 and aflange 43 on the lower end of thesheath 34. The downward movement of the sheath is limited by ahousing member 30, the lower end of which is fast with theflange 43, which has ashoulder 44 at its upper end which comes to bear against a corresponding shoulder on askirt 47 of theupper part 45 of the plug. The assembly 45-27-18-36 can thus move relative to thehousing member 30 when a force is exerted on theupper end surface 46 of the plug, thehousing member 30 remaining stationary with theskirt 47 of thepart 45 sliding into themember 30, and thesupport 18 sliding over thegaskets 32 on thestationary sheath 34.

The base of the connector is shown in FIG. 4 and comprises asocket 64 comprising, in its upper part, annular groups of contact element housings, such as 65 and 66, and in its lower part acylinder 67. The groups of contact elements are bathed in insulating oil and are protected inside thesocket 64 by apiston 68. Amandrel 69, supporting amembrane 60, connects theprotective piston 68 to aguide piston 61 which slides in thecylinder 67 and carriesgaskets 62 sealing the interior of the socket from the exterior. Achannel 63 extends through thepiston 61 and opens at an external surface of themandrel 69, so as to allow water to penetrate between themembrane 60 and themandrel 69. The fixings of the ends of themembrane 60, which is in the form of a sleeve, can be of any type and have not been shown.

To uncover thecontact elements 65 and 66, theprotective piston 68 is displaced by pressure exerted by theconical head 36 of the plug on the end ofpiston 68. The end of thepiston 68 is provided with aconical surface 70 matching theconical surface 47 ofhead 36 and to be engaged thereby. Whilst it is being pressed into thesocket 64, theflange 71 on the median part of thepiston 68 carry alongguide sockets 72, which slide oncolumns 73 fixed to aplinth 79, and moreover compress aspring 74, the ends of which rest respectively on theflange 71 and theplinth 79.

For greater clarity, the drawings do not show the electrical connections of the contact elements in themovable housings 1 and 33 of the plug, or those of the contact elements in thefixed housings 65 and 66 of the base, it being possible for the connections of the circuits of the contact elements in thehousings 1 and 33 to a cable of the plug and those of the contact elements in thehousings 65 and 66 to underwater equipment cables to be of any type and to terminate, by any desired paths, on any given part of the plug and of the base.

As regards the contact elements, they may be of any suitable type. By way of example and according to a preferred embodiment, the contact elements of themovable housings 1 and 33 of the plug aresockets 54, FIG. 6, which receive the fixed contact elements, in the form ofpins 80, in the base. The electrical contacts are established by sliding the sockets over the pins, with a certain amount of rubbing in order to remove any film of insulating oil.

When it is desired to couple the surface circuits to the underwater circuits which are coupled to the contact elements in the base located on an underwater installation, the plug joined to its cable is lowered from the surface, the cable being simultaneously unrolled from the surface. The plug is guided by any known means, e.g. a line, rails or a guiding tool, to bring theconical head 36 of the plug opposite theconical surface 70 of thepiston 68. The lower end surface of thesheath 34 which is generally frusto conical comes opposite a correspondingly frusto conical surface on theupper part 75 of thesocket 64 of the base. Oil under pressure is then injected through achannel 2, which extends from the connectingpiece 51, and spurts from anozzle 40 so as to sweep theconical surface 70 of thepiston 68 and also the frusto conical surface of theupper part 75 of thesocket 64. After removal of any debris between the plug head and the base, it suffices to continue the approaching movement until theconical surfaces 47 and 70 engage, whilst still injecting oil, in order to effect the join, and then to continue the penetration of thehead 36 together with thesupports 27 and 18 of thehousings 1 and 33 of the contact elements, into the bore of theupper part 75 of thesocket 64. No water is taken in during this movement.

In order to achieve exact coincidence of the contact elements in the plug with the contact elements in the base, theconical surfaces 47 and 70 may be provided with corresponding ribs and grooves, for example 76 for thesurface 70, which make it possible to increase the precision of the positioning operations.

The penetrating movement of thehead 36 of the plug into thebore 75 is continued, without the penetration of water, by virtue ofgaskets 77 at the periphery of thebore 75. During this movement, thehousings 1 and 33 move out of engagement with thesheath 34, whilst the protective piston moves away from the groups ofhousings 65 and 66 of the base.

At the end of the movement, thesockets 72, which are fixed relative to thepiston 68 of the base, come to rest against theupper part 78 of theplinth 79, thehousings 1 and 33 being then opposite thehousings 65 and 66. Oil under pressure is then supplied to thechamber 19 in the plug to move the member 38 and therefore thecam elements 16 downwardly. As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 5, theedges 52 of theelements 16 cooperate withgrooves 53 in thehousings 1 and 33. Since they are no longer protected by thesheath 34, thehousings 1 and 33 move laterally outwardly and simultaneously in order to partially penetrate intobores 91 of thehousings 65 and 66 and optionally push back pin-holders 88 which are acted upon bysprings 92.

In order to ensure perfect contact between the electrical contact elements in the housings in the base, apart 85 of thesocket 54, which, at the end of the lateral movement, presses against the cylindrical surface of thepin 80, is protected by an innerprotective jacket 57 which is acted upon by aspring 58. Furthermore, thepart 85 forms an elastic ring so that it perfectly matches thepin 80. When the end of theprotective jacket 57 comes to rest against the end of thepin 80, the continued lateral displacement of the housing 1 forces the end of an outer insulatingprotective case 55 of thesocket 54 to match and slide firstly over the cylindrical surface of thepin 80, and then over the conical surface of theinsulating case 89 for protecting the body of thepin 80. Theelastic ring 85, which is gradually uncovered by the holding back of thecase 57, thus presses on the cylindrical part of thepin 80 which has now been swept by the end of thecase 55, with the result that the connection is established without trapping any insulating oil. In the example shown in FIG. 6, aconductive wire 83 is welded at 84 to thesocket 54, awire 86 being welded at 87 to the terminal part of thepin 80, which is trapped, together with its insulatingcase 89, in a retainingpiece 90 and theguide support 88 which is acted upon by thespring 92. When the housing 1 is retracted, thecontact ring 85 slides gradually from thepin 80 on to its insulatingprotective jacket 57, the end of the outer insulatingcase 55 similarly leaving thecase 89 and then thepin 80, to bear again on thejacket 57. In this example, in which theconductive wire 83 can move with the housing 1, thecase 93 of thewire 83 is surrounded by the end of thecase 55, which is held on the wire by means of aspring clip 82.

During disconnection, the displacement of theconical elements 16 in the opposite direction is controlled by injecting oil into achamber 59 through achannel 3 which is connected to the connectingpiece 4, the oil in thechamber 19 being discharged. Thus, thehousings 1 and 33 of the contact elements are caused to retract. In order to raise the plug, it suffices to exert a pull on theupper part 46 of the plug, for example using pulling means represented schematically by 5. During this upward displacement, thehead 36 is gradually brought back to the position shown in FIG. 2, whilst thepiston 68 re-covers thehousings 65 and 66 of the contact elements in the base under the action of thespring 74, the contact elements in thehousings 1 and 33 of the plug being similarly protected by thesheath 34.

In the case where the hydraulic circuit fails to function, it is still possible to raise the plug of the connector to the surface solely by a pull exerted at theupper part 46 of the plug, for example by the means 5.

In this case, the ends of thehousings 1 and 33 are still in thehousings 65 and 66 and consequently the plug is held in the bore of thesocket 64, the pull onpart 46 has the effect of breakingpins 6 which hold thepart 46 to thesupport 18 by means of anassembly 21. Consequently, thepart 46 is detached from thepart 45. Apiston 24 is provided which is fast with thecontrol member 28 and is connected to arod 9 which extends through apassage 10 and a gasket in thepart 45. The head of therod 9 is located inpart 46. Movement ofpart 46 away frompart 45 exerts a pull on therod 9 and therefore onpiston 24 andcontrol member 28. The displacement of thecontrol member 28 causes the retraction of thehousings 1 and 33. At the end of this displacement amember piece 22 comes into abutment with ashoulder 12 onflange part 20 of thesupport 18, with the result that thehead 36 is retracted from the base.

Although only a single preferred embodiment of a connector has been described, it will be understood that numerous modifications could be applied to the various structures described, without going outside the scope of the present invention, it being possible, for example, for each control means to be replaced by equivalent means. It would also be possible to substitute other equivalent electrical contact elements, replace the movable housings which are internal relative to the base, when the latter is connected to the plug, by movable housings which are external relative to the base, and even substitute the terminals in the base for the sockets in the plug.

Claims (19)

What is claimed is:

1. An electrical connector for underwater connection of groups of electrical contact elements comprising:

a movable plug carrying a group of electrical contact elements;

a base carrying a group of electrical contact elements to be connected to the elements of said plug;

an enclosure in each of said plug and base filled with insulating liquid in which the respective said electrical contact elements are immersed, one of said enclosures being annular and the other of said enclosures being cylindrical;

an inner protective body inwardly limiting said annular enclosure; and

an outer protective body outwardly limiting said cylindrical enclosure,

wherein said cylindrical enclosure is adapted to slide relatively over the surface of said annular enclosure so as to replace said inner protective body from said cylindrical enclosure and to place corresponding ones of said electrical contacts opposite one another.

2. A connector as claimed in claim 1, in which said plug comprises said cylindrical enclosure and said base comprises said annular enclosure, and said contact elements in said cylindrical enclosure are movable laterally thereof to operative positions.

3. A connector as claimed in claim 1, in which said contact elements in one of said enclosures are movable laterally thereof to operative positions.

4. A connector as claimed in claim 2, in which said contact elements in said two enclosures are arranged in axially spaced parallel planes, and said movable contact elements have housings provided with means cooperating with guide means controlled by a single control mechanism.

5. A connector as claimed in claim 4, in which said guide means comprise the edges of openings provided in superposed conical elements.

6. A connector as claimed in claim 5, in which said lateral displacement of said movable contact elements is controlled by the axial displacement of the conical elements.

7. A connector as claimed in claim 6, in which said conical elements are connected for displacement to jack means.

8. A connector as claimed in claim 7, in which said jack means are adapted to return said movable contact elements to their original retracted positions.

9. A connector as claimed in claim 7, in which said annular enclosure defines a chamber having a flexible wall in contact with said insulating liquid and which communicates with the outside.

10. A connector as claimed in claim 9, in which said cylindrical enclosure defines a chamber having a flexible wall in contact with said insulating liquid and which communicates with the outside.

11. A connector as claimed in claim 6, in which said cylindrical enclosure comprises an end member which is movable relative to the body defining said enclosure, and a stop for transmitting motion of the end member to said body of said enclosure after a given movement of said end member, said end member being connected to the said conical elements such that said contact elements in said cylindrical enclosure are moved to their retracted positions by a pull exerted on said end member which successively causes the displacement of said end member relative to said body of the enclosure, the movement of said stop, the retraction of said movable contact elements and the separation of said plug and base.

12. A connector as claimed in claim 2, in which said movable contact elements comprise sockets and said other contact elements to be connected thereto comprise electrical pins, the lateral displacement of said movable contact elements causing electrical contact between said sockets and said pins.

13. A connector as claimed in claim 12, in which each of said pins is mounted on a support which is slidable in a fixed housing.

14. A connector as claimed in claim 12, in which each of said sockets of said movable contact elements is internally covered by a relatively movable protective jacket.

15. A connector as claimed in claim 14, including a case for externally protecting each said socket of said movable contact elements which borders and extends beyond the end of said socket.

16. A connector as claimed in claim 15, in which the end of each said protective case bordering the end of said socket has an extension with an inner cylindrical surface which matches and is adapted to sweep the surface of said corresponding pin before said socket and said pin come into contact during the lateral displacements of said movable contact elements.

17. A connector as claimed in claim 16, in which each said socket comprises an elastic ring, the inner edge of which serves as a stop for said movable protective jacket which is acted upon by a spring, said jacket extending beyond the outer end of said socket.

18. A connector as claimed in claim 17, in which each said pin has a free cylindrical surface, the end of which serves as a stop for said pretective jacket of said corresponding socket.

19. A connector as claimed in claim 18, in which said cylindrical surface of each said pin is adjacent a conical surface of a protective case thereof.

Images